Married Women's Right to Choose Surname after Marriage : a Study Case of a Divorce Registration in Practice

Abstract

Before Personal Name Act, 2005 is enforced; Thai married women must assume her spouse’s surname. According to the regulation by Ministry of the Interior, the married woman who still use her maiden name is not allowed to register divorce unless she had change her surname to her spouse’s surname. Nowadays, under the current law, the wife has the right to use her own surname separately but this complicated problem may still be found. The wife assuming her husband surname at the time of marriage is obligated by law to change her surname. Thus she may have to change her surname before register divorce as before.